Early tomorrow we will fly back to Honolulu and then on to Japan for a three-month stay. We have had an absolutely wonderful time being back on Kaua’i. In spite of the weather, we’ve still done some of our favorite things, eaten at some of our favorite places, and visited some of our favorite locations. And best of all, we reconnected with some of our favorite people. The weather here was honestly pretty lousy up until late Wednesday afternoon, then got nicer for a couple of days, but reverted once again to strong winds and colder temperatures on Friday. Yesterday and today it’s just been OK (and of course tomorrow when we leave it’s supposed to turn sunny and warm again). Our time here has been everything we hoped for though, and we’re now pretty sure this is where we’ll land in another couple of years. We still have some traveling we want to do and we still need to get YaYu through college, but Kaua’i feels like home, we have friends here, and the girls would love for us to live here again.
We visited the Kilauea Lighthouse and National Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. It’s always beautiful, no matter the weather.
Brett and I are no longer the parents of teenagers. YaYu turned 20 this past week, and thus ended an era for us. I can so clearly remember meeting each girl for the first time, Meiling and WenYu as infants, and YaYu when she was five years old, and now they are all beautiful young women ready to make their mark on the world. The years have been busy ones for all of us but they have flown by, and I’m feeling a bit bittersweet, sad that their childhoods are over while happy for all they have accomplished and the paths they have chosen.
Finally, one of the blog’s readers, Char, wrote this week imploring me to ask other readers not to forget about Australia. It has started to rain (finally) in parts of Australia, but the fires are still raging in areas, and help is needed in so many places and will be for some time, for firefighters, residents affected by the fires, and for animals who have been injured or whose habitats have been destroyed. The New York Times has a full list of charities that you can donate to help out in Australia, and The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is another highly-rated charity that will continue to help long after the media has moved on to other things. I hope you’ll reach out and contribute to Australia’s recovery if you are able.
This morning I am:
- Reading: I have done no reading this past week. We’ve stayed up most evenings chatting with Alan and Cheryl and then I’ve gone to bed and fallen right asleep. The insomnia is pretty much gone (thank goodness).
- Listening to: Outside it’s a typical Kaua’i morning: roosters crowing in the distance, birds singing, palm trees rustling in the breeze. It’s still overcast, but I did see a few patches of blue move by so it looks like the weather will be like it was yesterday. We would have course loved to have seen more of the sun this week, but I remember how much I enjoyed this cool weather when we lived here, especially knowing what would be arriving in a few months.
- Watching: Neither Brett nor I have watched anything this past week for the same reason I have read nothing.
The sweet, juicy rambutans inside these thick, wiry husks were well worth the effort it took to get to them. 
Last night’s dessert: vanilla ice cream topped with fresh lilikoi and grilled pineapple – easy and delicious! - Cooking: I have absolutely no idea what I’ll be eating or cooking this coming week – I don’t even know what we’re having tonight. I do know I am going to miss all the wonderful fruit we’ve enjoyed this week. We’ll most likely have our dinner at our son’s home on Tuesday night, maybe some sort of take-out. We’ll get moved over to our apartment later in the evening and do our first grocery shop at the Seiyu store on Wednesday. Both Brett and I have decided we want to have kara-age (Japanese fried chicken), potato salad (Japanese potato salad is the BEST), and Japanese cucumbers for our first on-our-own meal, but after that I have no idea what we’ll get other than I’m pretty sure some variety of CookDo will be purchased and prepared.
- Happy I accomplished this past week: We went to the bank this past Monday and I got all the business for our local accounts taken care of for the year. My big suitcase has been repacked and is ready for our departure tomorrow; Brett will be working on his later today. It’s amazing how much space we had after my winter travel outfit, boots and coat came out! Brett filled up the gas tank yesterday so we are ready to turn the car back over to Alan and Cheryl. We’ve had a busy but relaxing week, and seen and done pretty much everything we wanted to do while we were here. That’s accomplishment enough for me.
We introduced Alan & Cheryl to our favorite breakfast place, the Tip Top Cafe, and the best banana pancakes on the island. 
We also took them to the Kilauea Bakery after we visited the wildlife sanctuary (our favorite bakery on the island) for some wonderful cookies and other treats. - Looking forward to next week: While we are feeling very sad about leaving Kaua’i, we are thrilled to be going back to Japan! Our son will meet us at the airport on Tuesday afternoon (we arrive the day after departure thanks to the international date line) and will get us back into Tokyo where we’ll spend some time with our daughter-in-law and the grandkids in the evening before heading over to our nearby home for the next three months.
Beautiful Princeville view - Thinking of good things that happened: Our get together with Joy on Friday was fantastic, and I was so very happy to get to see her again. The place she suggested for us to meet up in Princeville was perfect, with lovely views overlooking the town and out to Hanalei and the ocean. The five of us shared two pasta dishes and two salads and chatted away the whole time. We were all having such a good time that I forgot to get the group picture I wanted and didn’t think of it until we were halfway home! I found fresh lilikoi at the farmers’ market we visited yesterday morning after enjoying breakfast at the Tip Top Cafe, so I got to have another one of my favorite tropical fruits while we were here this time. Everything we’ve done this week has been a good thing.
Friday evening’s beautiful sunset view of Bali Hai on the north shore. - Thinking of frugal things we did: We’ve been very careful and have not spent all the money we allocated for this visit. We had gotten a notice that our bank here was going to charge me a fee because my account had been inactive all of last year, but one of the transfers we made took care of it and I didn’t have to pay anything extra. I will definitely need to remember to make another transfer in 2020 or I will get charged next year. After paying Portland prices in December, we’ve found island prices to be quite affordable (gasoline is 25¢ less per gallon here, for example).
- Grateful for: We are beyond grateful for the generosity Alan and Cheryl have shown us during our stay. We have had the full use of our old car all week so we didn’t have to rent a car, and we also haven’t had the expense of a hotel or Airbnb as we stayed in their lovely home (we’ve actually been sleeping in our old bed!). There’s been no pressure to get up and go every day, and we’ve been able to set our own schedule. We’ve had an absolutely perfect visit because of their hospitality.
- Bonus question: What’s been your favorite thing about returning to Kaua’i? I think the most surprising thing for both Brett and me was how quickly we felt right back at home here, especially when we were driving around in our old car. We thought coming back we’d feel differently about the island, but for the most part, it’s almost been like we never left. All the things we loved about living here before are still here, especially the joy of seeing the ocean every day, even with the surf rough and the skies overcast. The island is still intensely beautiful, and the people exceedingly friendly. The pace of life here remains slower and more laid back than on the mainland or other places we’ve been. Of course, the humidity is still hellish and my hair has looked like a fright wig most of the time. The traffic issues remain as well, but we know now those are things we can find ways to deal with or work around if we return here to settle.
I want to end with a question for you: Are topics you’d like me to cover during our time in Japan? Would you like me to write about how we’re doing with our budget each week since we’ll be living on less this time in a famously expensive city? Would you like to see what our food shopping looks like each week? Is there some aspect of life in Japan you’re interested in knowing about? I will stick with my usual format for the most part, but I’d also like to write about topics you are interested in knowing or have questions about. Let me know! (I will be continuing the Back to the Future posts from time to time).
Anyway, that’s a wrap for this week! I hope everyone had a great week (and better weather than we’ve had) and is looking forward to the week coming up. I’m not sure when I’ll post next as besides traveling we’ll also be under the influence of jet lag for a few days, as well as busy getting settled. I’ll definitely be back with a post next Sunday.
The Occasional Nomads 
I would love to hear about your budget in Tokyo and what groceries you buy and meals you prepare and what sights you visit! In short, I hope you document your upcoming time in Japan as thoroughly as the other destinations you’ve been to lately, even though it’s not new to you 🙂
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Thanks for this – I will make an effort to report more frequently about our budget and how we’re managing with a curtailed amount. I will also try to do a better job of reporting on everyday activities. Even a walk to the station can be an adventure in Japan!
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I enjoy all your posts and pictures, especially since extensive travel is not in the cards at the moment for me because of job and family health issues. I enjoy living vicariously through you by armchair travel.. lol. I also like your budget posts so really everything you have been doing interests me.
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Thank you, Cindy! I will try and do a better job of reporting on our spending in Japan, and what it means this time in terms of our reduced budget. We’re also planning to visit several places we haven’t been before, all free, so those might be interesting as well. For me, every trip out the door in Japan is an adventure!
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I’d love to see pictures of your Japanese groceries! It’s always fun to visit foreign food shops for us.
Loved hearing about the time on Kauai. It’s a place we’ll return to one day.
Safe travels – hope everything goes smoothly!
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Thanks – I will try and remember to take pictures after every shopping trip. Portion sizes in Japan are smaller than what we find in the U.S. and I love that their meat is typically already cut and sized to go right into a recipe. You don’t find big pieces of meat in stores there that you have to cut for a recipe.
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The grilled pineapple and ice cream dessert looks divine. I love tropical fruits. One of my favourite things about summer.
Re Japan: I’d like to hear about daily doings, what you eat and what you see about you. I like the slice of life we see through your blog.
I’m actually visiting Japan for a week at the end of February courtesy of the Japan Foundation which takes educational leaders for a week to schools, temples, museums etc. All expenses paid – flights, accommodation, most meals, internal travel. I will blog soon about my itinerary.
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Lilikoi (passionfruit) over vanilla ice cream is one of my favorite desserts – the tartness of the lilikoi with the sweetness of the ice cream is a perfect combination. The grilled pineapple complimented it perfectly. I have missed tropical fruit more than I realized.
I will plan to do more posts about everyday activities in Japan. Even the seemingly mundane in Japan can be interesting – it always is to us.
Let me know if you have any time to get together – we would love to see you. You will love Japan even with all your meetings, etc.
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If you continue to post just like always….day to day experiences, food choices, living arrangements, day trips, budgeting, what you are reading/watching…..that will be exactly right. You have a writing “voice and brand” that has defined your style as you have traveled and it is most enjoyable to read. It is as if you are welcoming the reader into your world and including them in your day to day choices and decision making! Safe travels to Japan!
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Yes!
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I’m seeing a trend here – more posts about day to day experiences, including trips to the grocery store and errands around the neighborhood. Will do! We love Japan because every day there is an adventure, and we seem to encounter something new and interesting every day.
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Safe travel wishes to you and Brett !!! I loved the last time you were in Japan and you posted on learning words, and of course your grocery shopping always fascinated me 🙂
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Less than 24 hours to go and I am already so excited I can hardly stand it! We are sad to leave, but very excited about being in Japan again. I’m glad to hear you liked the words I was learning. I have given up on formally learning Japanese, but know I will still be picking up new things when we’re there.
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Great blog post! Yes, it was a fantastic evening and so glad we all got together!! You’ll be back before you know it. I know you’ll enjoy your time in Japan with family. And the adventure continues!! xoxoxoxoxo
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I really did remember that I wanted a group picture of all of us . . . right about when we hit Kilauea. Next time!
All our our best wishes for you in the coming week. We’ll be thinking of you and looking forward to hearing from you that everything went well.
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What a wonderful recap for your visit back home–as that is what it was-right? I know you two are looking forward to seeing your son and the family. It’s lovely you are making this long trip on an emotional plus note and seeing them will be icing on the cake!
Re topics to cover while you are in Japan? I reviewed your list of suggestions, and think you should just go with that list. All are topics of interest and worthwhile exploring for your readers.
Bon Voyage, and I look forward to your next post.
Sonja
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Our visit here did turn out to be a trip back home. We very much want to come back once we’ve finished traveling and gotten YaYu through school.
Thanks for the feedback – I will be sticking to that list as it seems those are the things many people would like to see more of.
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I love hearing about your day trips and the real cost of living frugally on your trips!! And the food! Another other thing I would love to understand is how you fare socially…three months is a long time without “friends” (for lack of a better way to state that). As my hubs and I think about retirement and travelling frequently…we often talk about how can we keep a vibrant support system beyond immediate family? We struggle with it a bit even now with busy work and kid schedules, but no “built in” ways to meet people in a new place now that our kids are grown. Being more transient, well, just not sure how that would work!
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In Japan we mostly hang out with our family, but have met people through our grandson’s school. Social activities outside of family are not very typical unless they have to do with work. However, people in Japan have been very helpful, especially when we’re having trouble figuring out the subway map, and we’ve had the pleasure of being able to chat for a while with some of those people.
For the most part though, it’s just Brett and I when we’re on the road. We do meet people from time to time, and of course we have friends in places like Portland or here on Kaua’i. I’m an introvert and it can be difficult for me to approach people or get to know them (Brett is more of an extrovert). However, after nearly 43 years together, Brett and I have never run out of things to talk about though so when it’s just the two of us we’re good.
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Glad you were able to have a good return visit to Kauai, despite the weather. Like you said, at least it was cooler! Do you think you’ll be back there this year?
I like reading about your daily experiences in Japan and meals. Enjoy the time with your son and family and I look forward to reading all about it!
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We don’t plan to come back to Kaua’i for another two years, and that will probably be to stay! If the past couple of years has taught us anything it’s that the time will most likely go more quickly than we’d like it to!
I will try to post more about meals in Japan, what they cost, etc. We are planning to eat out once a week, and have budgeted around $30/week for that. You can eat some really tasty food for less in Japan if you shop carefully.
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When I was in Japan in 2015, I was on a guided tour and we didn’t have too many opportunities to eat out on our own, so seeing what meals you come up with on your budget is very interesting to me. Enjoy!
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I will take pictures of food!
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I always loved your posts about the different shrines and parks. Any topics about free destinations would be most welcome. Lots and lots of pictures please.
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We hope to visit some different shrines this time, some of the less famous or at least less well known ones. They’re always interesting to check out. And you know I will be taking lots of pictures!!
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So looking forward to your posts from Japan!
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Thanks, Rowena! I can’t sleep because I’m so excited. We will miss Kaua’i, but are looking forward to being with family again.
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Late to the party here, but I also enjoyed hearing about your day to day adventures in Japan, the foods you eat, your shopping adventures, and the new words you were learning. In other words, just keep up the good work. We are the lucky armchair travelers!
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It looks like my blogging theme for Japan is going to be “Everyday Life” with some shrines and temples thrown in for good measure. I’m happy with that though because I find everyday life in Japan fascinating – it’s never boring.
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I echo what others have said! I also loved your Hawaiian farmer’s market posts where you had us guess the $$ amount.
In terms of Japan, I’m curious about any gadgets or clever ways of using space wisely. I like learning about the culture when you share.
Also curious about the outings you will be taking using the book you found in London as your guide. Free or cheap Tokyo?
This might be an impossible request, but what about interviewing Japanese people? What do they think of American politics? Of the rise of China? Living so close to North Korea? What are their most pressing concerns? How do Japanese achieve their famous high savings rates as a % of income? What is their dream vacation?
Finally – I’m curious how the Japanese are handling environmental issues differently than Americans. Recycling? Less waste? more renewable energy? Etc.
Please keep up the Back to the Future posts!!
Sending best wishes for smooth travels and an easy integration back into Japan 🙂
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I think I will try and do a shopping post every few days and highlight not only prices but what’s different with packaging, sizes, prices, etc. and the gadgets! There are some very interesting ones in Japan, especially ones for maximizing storage in small places.
Interviews would be very difficult because of the language difficulties. I can ask our son though – after 20+ years in Japan he has a good handle on what most Japanese think about particular topics. He can always see things from both sides.
We are planning a future post on recycling. The Japanese are master recyclers – it’s pretty amazing what they accomplish.
I appreciate all these suggestions and ideas – lots to think about!!!
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Thank you yes fires seem to be stabilizing and calm a bit and yes anything that anyone can do help here is appreciated… Thank you laura
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Just wanted to add this regarding the Australia fires. Outback Steakhouse is doing a relief effort this week. You can read more about it here: https://www.outback.com/offers/bushfires
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Thanks for passing this along, JJ!
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